When I was a teenager, my father would occasionally take me to lunch at a Thai restaurant in Rockland, Maine. I can’t quite remember what it was called, or even exactly where it was. But it’s not there anymore, so it hardly matters. These lunches meant a lot to me. Not because the food was…

For anyone that digs on swine, Chinese roast pork may just be a nearly perfect exploration of the finer points of the animal: A crunchy outer layer of blistered, puffy, crispy skin, stacked atop a layer of warm, barely-solid fat that liquefies the instant it hits your mouth, and another layer of tender, lightly-spiced meat. It’s…

The new Summer Chef’s Seasonal Menu at P. F. Chang’s is full of fresh bites, perfect for the season. Malcolm and I became fans of the popular Chinese chain years ago, while visiting the US from Mexico. The restaurant was cool, cavernous, and dark, and we were impressed by the quality and striking flavors. Unlike…

Easter always kind of gave me the creeps. The man-sized bunny, eating chocolate before lunch and hunting around the house for smelly hard-boiled eggs, struck me as tacky and bizarre. My mother would dress me up in a white straw bonnet, with patent leather shoes and gloves, tights, slips and crinolines under my fancy dress,…

I never want to make any sweeping, declarative statements on the internet that I might, one day, live to regret. But wonton soup is the best thing you could ever eat in the middle of a long winter and if you don’t agree with me you are a total numbskull and we aren’t even friends….

Crispy orange-flavored beef (or chicken) is another staple dish from the world of picture-based Chinese takeout menus. Like General Tso’s, if the dish actually exists in China, it probably bears little resemblance to the aluminum tray filled with syrupy-sweet fried beef bits that we have grown accustomed to here in the States. It can be…

There isn’t much I like eating more than a big bowl of glistening, slippery noodles. Greasy lo mein is one of my favorite takeout choices. Yes, chicken and broccoli will always be my number one, but veggie lo mein is definitely in the canon of American-style Chinese dishes. It’s no secret that mall Chinese food,…

It’s been nearly two years since we performed our survey of the Chinese takeout landscape in Maine, and sadly, the picture hasn’t improved. With a few exceptions (we’re hearing good things about Zen Chinese Bistro, for example), each bag of Chinese takeout seems to be more depressing than the last. For every new “authentic taqueria”…

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We're Jillian and Malcolm. Join us as we cook classic recipes from New England (as well as our favorite comfort food From Away), and explore all of Maine's vibrant food culture. Click here to read more.

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